March Devotional Journal by Covenant EFC

MARCH 2021 DEVOTIONAL JOURNAL

Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” 1 SAMUEL 6:20 (ESV)

MARCH 2021

DEVOTIONAL JOURNAL

Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” 1 SAMUEL 6:20 (ESV)

Also available at www.cefc.org.sg and “Covenant EFC” mobile app.

Memory Verses January

2021

And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.” 1 Samuel 2:1 (ESV)

February And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 1 Samuel 3:10 (ESV)

March Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” 1 Samuel 6:20 (ESV)

April And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 1 Samuel 7:3 (ESV)

May Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the LORD has helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12 (ESV)

June Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 1 Samuel 12:23 (ESV)

July But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

August Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. 1 Samuel 16:13 (ESV)

September Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 1 Samuel 17:45 (ESV)

October And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him. 1 Samuel 18:14 (ESV)

November The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness, for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. 1 Samuel 26:23 (ESV)

December And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. 1 Samuel 30:6 (ESV)

Foreword BY SENIOR PASTORS

DISCIPLING

THE REMNANT In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, God has laid upon our hearts that He will preserve a remnant and that the church must take care to faithfully disciple the remnant.

2021

“Then the remnant of Jacob

shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass which delay not for a man, nor wait for the children of man. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.” – Micah 5:7-8 The remnant people do not consist only of today’s strong and successful Christians. It also includes weak and downtrodden believers who are experiencing much brokenness and need for purification. Their lives may currently be in a mess, but they are willing to let God

discipline, mould, shape and restore them for a future that will see them glorify God in all kinds of ways. By God’s grace, they will come through the testing and training process shining as God’s people who trust and obey Him more and more. “In that day, declares the Lord. I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; and the lame I will make the remnant...” – Micah 4:6-7a

who will do His bidding and carry out His work whatever the cost in these last days. Let us be committed to be disciples who make disciples! To be a church that is growing deep in God’s Word and Spirit, members must grow spiritually through self-feeding on God’s Word and not depend only on Sunday feeding. Every day from Monday to Saturday, let us

Every day from Monday to Saturday, let us individually seek the Lord by opening up the Scriptures and drinking from Him who is the fountain of living water." “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love.”– Micah 7:18 God’s call for His people remains certain and unchanged. We are not just to be disciples but to make disciples of all nations! In 1 Samuel, God called a simple shepherd boy named David who had faith in Him. And just as God raised up His servant David, God will also raise up a faithful remnant — people

individually seek the Lord by opening up the Scriptures and drinking from Him who is the fountain of living water. This Devotional Journal is designed to help you do just that. In 2021, may we all from the young to the old, the single to the married, the struggling to the successful, and the fearful to the faith-filled, be discipled as the remnant for the future and for God’s glory! In Christ, Rev Tan Kay Kiong and Rev Tony Yeo

Guide to Using THIS DEVOTIONAL JOURNAL

Step 1 PREPARE YOUR HEART IN GOD’S PRESENCE • Select a fixed time (preferably in the morning before you begin your day) and a quiet place where you can be alone and undisturbed. • Observe a moment of silence as you acknowledge God’s presence. Centre down. • Begin with a song of worship. Meditate on the lyrics even if you are unfamiliar with the tune. (Refer to the list of worship songs provided.) • Ask God to open your heart to hear Him.

+ SOMETHING TO PONDER The English Standard Version (ESV) is the default Bible version translation unless otherwise specified.

Examining your life is essential in your faith journey. Your redeemed life as a disciple of Christ deserves careful examining. May you take root and bear fruit in Him!

Step 2 ALLOW GOD TO S.O.A.P. YOU WITH HIS WORD AND SPIRIT • Scripture – Take your time to meditate on the Scripture passage for the day. Pause and mull over words and phrases that stand out to you. • Observation – Jot down significant insights and reflections from the passage you have read. You may use the guiding questions provided. The “Deeper Reflection” section is to aid your contemplation of the Scripture. It is not to replace your own observation, for the Holy Spirit illuminates the Scripture to you as you seek Him earnestly. • Application – Note down a specific and practical commitment to God’s Word for you. Is there a command to obey, a sin to avoid, an example to follow, or a principle to live out? Where appropriate, share your devotional entry with someone. • Prayer – Bring your heartfelt response to God in prayer.

+ PRAYER POINTERS FOR 2021

We have provided prayer pointers for Pastors and Staff every Tuesday and for the Generations every Wednesday. Every Thursday, a prayer pointer is included for Outreach/ Missions/New Life Leaders. On each Friday, there is a prayer pointer for SGI Leaders (e.g. Zone Mentors, CG Leaders and Assistant CG Leaders). A prayer pointer for Church Board Members is included every Saturday. Please pray for each group as well as any specific individuals whom God may bring to your mind.

Prayer for Home Missions “…For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 1 SAMUEL 16:7

1 SAMUEL 16:7 TELLS US not to look at the outward appearance, but to tune in and listen closely to God who sees the heart. Those who follow God’s voice are not easily swayed by what looks promising nor intimidated by looming great threats (1 Sam 17). While 2020 has been a tumultuous year for many, it is also an unprecedented year for Home Missions. Doors to reach out and bless migrants were thrown wide open. Since the Circuit Breaker in April, Covenant EFC was given the opportunity to meet the needs in migrant worker communities. As we answered the call, we were amazed to see God use us to adopt over 1,000 workers in seven factory-converted dormitories, one

worksite dormitory and over 20 residential homes. We delivered meals to the migrant workers, distributed care packs, encouraged them with homemade cards and even organised approved activities for some of them after months of lockdown. Through our initial transactional exchanges as we delivered meals and care packs, God led us to go deeper to build friendships with some migrant workers. As one of our leaders observed, “Those who were marginalised, God has now centralised.” Indeed, the nations are upon God’s heart. Singapore is a gathering of the people of many nations — Indians, Bangladeshi, Mainland Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Indonesians, Malaysians, Burmese and other nationalities — together with Singaporeans. We believe that this is just the beginning of the mighty work God is doing in Singapore to make us a blessing to the nations. Let us pray so that we will hear God’s voice calling us to join Him in His work among the nations starting from Singapore, our home.

Pray • For the eyes and ears of Christians to be opened to see Godgiven opportunities to bless and engage the foreigners around us. That we may have the courage to befriend and the wisdom to engage them in deeper conversations. • For the well-being of the foreigners, especially migrant workers and domestic helpers, who may be suffering from the aftereffects of lockdown with anxieties about the future, worries for their families back home and stress from work situations. • For Home Missions’ ministries of outreach and discipleship to flourish. We desire to see disciplemaking communities arise among the many nationalities and to later send many foreigners back to their home countries as disciplemakers for the Lord Jesus Christ.

MARCH-APRIL DOXOLOGY (GOD BE PRAISED) Verse 1 Praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise Him all creatures here below Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost Chorus Praise the Father Praise the Son Praise the Spirit now with us Every moment All our days God be praised God be praised Verse 2 Praise God with morning’s breaking light Praise Him through darkness of the night Praise Him with every breath of life Praise Him my soul with all your might Verse 3 Praise God when face to face we see The One who died to set us free The One who rose in victory Praise now forever Christ our King Thomas Ken | Todd Fields © SIXFIELDSMUSIC (Admin. by Robinson Lane Music) For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Song # 7134391 CCLI Licence # 324618

GOODNESS OF GOD Verse 1 I love You, Lord Oh Your mercy never fails me All my days I've been held in Your hands From the moment that I wake up Until I lay my head I will sing of the goodness of God Chorus All my life You have been faithful All my life You have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God Verse 2 I love Your voice You have led me through the fire In darkest night You are close like no other I've known You as a father I've known You as a friend I have lived in the goodness of God Bridge Your goodness is running after It’s running after me Your goodness is running after It’s running after me With my life laid down I’m surrendered now I give You everything Your goodness is running after It's running after me Ben Fielding | Brian Johnson | Ed Cash | Jason Ingram | Jenn Johnson © 2018 Alletrop Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) Fellow Ships Music (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC) So Essential Tunes (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC) Bethel Music Publishing (Admin. by SHOUT! Music Publishing Australia) SHOUT! Music Publishing Australia For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Song # 7117726 CCLI Licence # 324618

PRAISE IS THE OFFERING Verse 1 Come and let us sing for joy Let us praise and shout aloud To the lifter of our heads To the Rock we're standing on Your salvation is our song Now we can't stay silent We will sing how Chorus 1 Great is Your love for us And great are the things You've done And praise is the offering We bring to You Verse 2 Lord, we come to worship You Lord, we bow our hearts in awe By Your love, we are redeemed We are Yours and You're our God Your salvation is our song Now we can't stay silent We will sing how Chorus 2 All of our heart and soul And all that You are and more And praise is the offering We bring to You

Verse 3 Lord, we come to worship You Lord, we bow our hearts in awe By Your love, we are redeemed We are Yours and You're our God We are Yours and You're our God We are Yours and You're our God Glenn Packiam | Shannon Alford | Sion Alford © 2010 GWC Publishing (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) Integrity Worship Music (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Song # 5783647 CCLI License # 324618

THE COMPASSION HYMN Verse 1 There is an everlasting kindness You lavished on us When the radiance of heaven Came to rescue the lost You called the sheep without a shepherd To leave their distress For Your streams of forgiveness And the shade of Your rest Verse 2 And with compassion for the hurting You reached out Your hand As the lame ran to meet You And the dead breathed again You saw behind the eyes of sorrow And shared in our tears Heard the sigh of the weary Let the children draw near Chorus What boundless love, what fathomless grace You have shown us, O God of compassion Each day we live an offering of praise As we show to the world Your compassion Verse 3 We stood beneath the cross of Calvary And gazed on Your face At the thorns of oppression And the wounds of disgrace For surely You have borne our suffering And carried our grief As You pardoned the scoffer And showed grace to the thief

Verse 4 How beautiful the feet That carry this Gospel of peace To the fields of injustice And the valleys of need To be a voice of hope and healing To answer the cries Of the hungry and helpless With the mercy of Christ Keith Getty | Kristyn Getty | Stuart Townend © 2008 Thankyou Music (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Song # 5468807 CCLI License # 324618

WHOM SHALL I FEAR (GOD OF ANGEL ARMIES) Verse 1 You hear me when I call You are my morning song Though darkness fills the night It cannot hide the light Whom shall I fear? You crush the enemy underneath my feet You are my sword and shield Though troubles linger still Whom shall I fear? Chorus I know who goes before me I know who stands behind The God of angel armies is always by my side The One who reigns forever He is a friend of mine The God of angel armies is always by my side Verse 2 My strength is in Your name For You alone can save You will deliver me Yours is the victory Whom shall I fear Whom shall I fear (Whom shall I fear)

Bridge (And) nothing formed against me shall stand You hold the whole world in Your hands I'm holding on to Your promises You are faithful You are faithful Chris Tomlin | Ed Cash | Scott Cash © 2012 Alletrop Music (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) McTyeire Music (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) S. D. G. Publishing (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) Sixsteps Songs (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) Worship Together Music (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) For use solely with the SongSelect Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Song # 6440288 CCLI Licence # 324618

'TIL I SEE YOU Verse 1 The greatest love That anyone could ever know That overcame the cross And grave to find my soul And 'til I see You face to face And grace amazing takes me home I'll trust in You Verse 2 With all I am I live to see Your kingdom come And in my heart I pray You'd let Your will be done And 'til I see You face to face And grace amazing takes me home I'll trust in You Chorus I will live to love You I will live to bring You praise I will live a child in awe of You Verse 3 You are the voice That called the universe to be You are the whisper In my heart that speaks to me And 'til I see You face to face And grace amazing takes me home I'll trust in You Bridge You alone are God of all You alone are worthy, Lord And with all I am my soul will bless Your name Jadwin Gillies | Joel Houston © 2004 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Song # 4455189 CCLI Licence # 324618

MAKING A DIFFERENCE Verse 1 Won't You Lord Take a look at our hands Everything we have Use it for Your plan Verse 2 Won't You Lord Take a look at our hearts Mould it, refine it As You set us apart Chorus We want to run to the altar And catch the fire To stand in the gap Between the living and the dead Give us a heart of compassion For a world without vision We will make a difference Bringing hope to our land Song & Lyrics: City Harvest Church

SOVEREIGN OVER US Verse There is strength within the sorrow There is beauty in our tears And You meet us in our mourning With a love that casts out fear Verse 2 You are working in our waiting You’re sanctifying us When beyond our understanding You're teaching us to trust Chorus Your plans are still to prosper You've not forgotten us You're with us in the fire and the flood You’re faithful forever perfect in love You are sovereign over us Verse 3 You are wisdom unimagined Who could understand Your ways Reigning high above the heavens Reaching down in endless grace Verse 4 You're the lifter of the lowly Compassionate and kind You surround and You uphold me And Your promises are my delight

Bridge Even what the enemy means for evil You turn it for our good You turn it for our good And for Your glory Even in the valley, You are faithful You're working for our good You're working for our good And for Your glory (Repeat) Ending You’re faithful forever perfect in love You are sovereign over us Aaron Keyes | Bryan Brown | Jack Mooring © 2011 Jack Mooring Music (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) Meaux Jeaux Music (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) Thankyou Music (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by CopyCare Asia Ltd (Singapore Branch)) For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Song # 6011370 CCLI Licence No. 324618

LIVING HOPE Verse 1 How great the chasm that lay between us How high the mountain I could not climb In desperation, I turned to heaven And spoke Your name into the night Then through the darkness Your loving kindness Tore through the shadows of my soul The work is finished, the end is written Jesus Christ, my living hope Verse 2 Who could imagine so great a mercy? What heart could fathom such boundless grace? The God of ages stepped down from glory To wear my sin and bear my shame The cross has spoken, I am forgiven The King of kings calls me His own Beautiful Saviour, I’m Yours forever Jesus Christ, my living hope Chorus Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me You have broken every chain There’s salvation in Your name Jesus Christ, my living hope Verse 3 Then came the morning that sealed the promise Your buried body began to breathe Out of the silence, the roaring Lion Declared the grave has no claim on me Jesus Yours is the victory

Ending Jesus Christ, my living hope Oh God, You are my living hope Brian Johnson | Phil Wickham © 2017 Phil Wickham Music (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Simply Global Songs (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Sing My Songs (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Bethel Music Publishing (Admin. by SHOUT! Music Publishing) For use solely with the SongSelect®Terms of use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Song # 7106807 CCLI Licence # 324618

WE PRAISE YOU Verse 1 Let praise be a weapon that silences the enemy Let praise be a weapon that conquers all anxiety Let it rise, let praise arise Verse 2 We sing Your name in the dark And it changes everything We sing with all we are and we claim Your victory Let it rise, let praise arise Chorus We’ll see you break down every wall We’ll watch the giants fall For fear cannot survive when we praise You The God of breakthrough's on our side Forever lift (Him) (You) high With all creation cry, God, we praise You Interlude Oh, we praise You Oh Verse 3 Let faith be the song That overcomes the raging sea Let faith be the song That calms the storm inside of me Let it rise, let faith arise Interlude Oh, we praise You Oh, we praise You Oh, we praise You Oh, we praise You

Bridge This is what living looks like This is what freedom feels like This is what Heaven sounds like We praise You We praise You (Repeat) Ending Oh, we praise You Oh, we praise You Oh, we praise You Oh, give Him all Your praise Brandon Lake | Brian Johnson | Matt Redman | Phil Wickham © 2019 Integrity Worship Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook)) Said And Done Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook)) Phil Wickham Music (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Simply Global Songs (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Sing My Songs (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC]) Bethel Music Publishing (Admin. by SHOUT! Music Publishing Australia) Maverick City Publishing Worldwide (Admin. by SHOUT! Music Publishing Australia) For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Song # 7130961 CCLI Licence # 324618

SCRIPTURE

MONDAY

1 Samuel 2:1-10

1 March

A Prayer Filled with God OBSERVATION How many times is the divine name “the LORD” repeated in Hannah’s prayer and what is the significance of the repetition?

Deeper Reflection

HANNAH’S PETITIONARY PRAYING (1 Sam 1:9-18) builds up to doxological praying (vv.1-10) after God had answered her prayer for a son (1 Sam 1:19-28). There is no petition in this prayer. Hannah did not ask God for a thing. Hannah’s one-verse autobiographical reference (v.1) gives way to references to her God all the way (vv.2-10).1 It is a prayer filled with God, with the divine name, “The LORD”, repeated nine times (vv.1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10). Hannah lived at a time when many were worshipping the Canaanite fertility god, Baal (Judg 2:11-13; 1 Sam 7:4). Hannah could have been tempted to turn to Baal to deliver her from her childless condition, 2 especially when suffering the onslaught of the relentless malicious provocation from Peninnah – her “enemies” (v.1; 1 Sam 1:6-7). Today’s world has its own versions of Baal, the god of fertility, that we may be tempted to look to for success, prosperity and security, when it seems to us that we do not find them from God. But for Hannah, she remained faithful to her God, who in due time vindicated her in her plight: “I rejoice in Your salvation” (v.1). Being exalted “in the LORD”, she exulted “in the LORD” (v.1). The thrice repeated phrase “There is none like” in her prayer (v.2) emphatically declares God as incomparable to all other so-called gods, “challenging the Canaanite belief that Baal is the incomparable king who ensures fertility”3.

APPLICATION

What is it like for me to have my prayers filled with God? 2020

PRAYER

in nee

Those

Victor P. Hamilton, Handbook of the Historical Books (Baker 2001), 217 Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 1 & 2 Samuel, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Baker, 2013), 9 3 Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 9 4 Nehemiah 9:5-6; Psalm 145:3 1

Significant people

Leaders

Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are God and Lord. You made the heavens and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give Giv e th ank life to everything. Great are You, sa nd pra O Most High God, and most worthy ise of praise! Your greatness is infinite and unfathomable!4

SCRIPTURE

TUESDAY

1 Samuel 2:1-3

2 March

With God Actions Are Weighed OBSERVATION What does verse 3 tell us about God?

Deeper Reflection

THE GOD whom Hannah knew is a God “defined by knowledge”5: He is “the God of knowledge” (v.3b), who knows and sees all things at all times. Nothing escapes His notice for a single moment. And nothing escapes His scrutiny, for “with Him actions are weighed” (v.3b). The expression, “With Him actions are weighed”, points to the God “who attends to the details of human life”6, even to the minutest details, like our sitting down, lying down and rising up (Psa 139:2-3). And this God bothers Himself with the most trivial thing: “the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Lk 12:7). Who bothers to count the number of hair one has? And for what purpose? Everything that happens on earth matters to God, with whom every human being must reckon. Therefore, before such a God we ought to walk humbly: “Boast no more so very proudly, do not let arrogance come out of your mouth” (v.3a). In the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Joe Biden beat Donald Trump by 306 to 232 electorate college votes – the exact same score by which Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016. The tables turned in such a way as if it is scripted. Looking at it theologically, we may ask: Was it just so coincidental? Or was it providential? Was the hand of the God of nations and history (Psa 33:10-11) before whom “the pride of man will be humbled and the loftiness of men will be abased” (Isa 2:17) in it?

APPLICATION

What does it mean for me to walk with the God of knowledge? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for pastors and staff: To live life before the God of knowledge Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

5 6

David G. Firth, 1 & 2 Samuel, Apollos Old Testament Commentary (Apollos, 2009), 60 David H. Jensen, 1 & 2 Samuel, Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (WJK, 2015), 27

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 2:1-7

WEDNESDAY 3 March

God’s Sovereign Freedom and Power OBSERVATION What significant observations can you make about God in verses 4 to 7?

Deeper Reflection

IN THE WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN, does one want to be “mighty” or “feeble”? (v.4) To be “mighty”, obviously. Who wants to be “feeble”? Surely, we will choose to be “full” rather than “hungry” (v.5a). But the reality is: there are those who have the power and ability to choose the “better things” of life, while for others, their unfortunate circumstances incapacitated them to become weak, poor and marginalised. However, there is another reality: the reversal of fortunes – the swapping of places between the mighty and full and the feeble and hungry (vv.4-5). Hannah speaks of this from her experience: “Even the barren gives birth to seven, but she who has many children languishes” – ending life bereft and mournful7 (v.5b). Behind this narrative of life is the sovereign freedom and power of God: “The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up” (v.6). For every person, from womb to tomb, God is never absent from the picture. This God “makes” both “poor and rich” (v.7a). So, theologically, both are equal, albeit not so economically. But remember the One who “though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor” (2 Cor 8:9). And it is God who “brings low” and “exalts” (v.7b). Whatever our life situation is, may it only be that we walk humbly, not arrogantly, before God (v.3). For God humbles the exalted and exalts the humble (Lk 14:11).

APPLICATION

What does it mean for me to live under the sovereign freedom and power of God? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for The Next Generation: To trust and rest in God’s sovereign freedom and power Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, The New American Commentary (B & H, 1996), 76

SCRIPTURE

THURSDAY

1 Samuel 2:1-10

4 March

God Keeps His Godly Ones OBSERVATION What significant observations can you make about God in verses 8 to 10?

Deeper Reflection

IN THE CONTEXT of the Song of Hannah, those who are “feeble”, “hungry”, “barren”, “poor” and “needy” (vv.4-5, 7-8) belong to a particular group of people: “His godly ones” (v.9). Whereas those who are “mighty”, “full” and “rich” (vv.4, 5, 7) are “the wicked ones” (v.9). In this particular context of life, there will be the reversing of fortunes – an action that is very characteristic of God: “He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the garbage heap to seat them with nobles and He gives them a seat of honour as an inheritance” (v.8). Biblically, not all “His godly ones” are disadvantaged and marginalised socially and economically; but frequently, it is the case. This also includes being persecuted or opposed for living righteously in whatever life settings. But for how long before the reversal of fortunes takes place we do not know. God does not tell us. And things often happen as if God has forgotten His people. But it is here that we “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7), believing that God is in total sovereign control of the world: “the pillars of the earth is the LORD’s” (v.8). And that there will be the ultimate judgment of God (v.10). Humans will not prevail by might and the wicked will be “silenced in darkness” (v.9). As for us, we trust in God expectantly and wait for Him patiently, as we remain faithful to Him who “keeps the feet of His godly ones” (v.9).

APPLICATION

What areas in my life do I need to trust in God and wait for Him for the reversal 2020 of fortunes?

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for Outreach/Missions/ New Life leaders: To live with freedom in the God who reverses fortunes Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 1:3-20; 2:1-10

FRIDAY

5 March

Knowledge and Experience of God OBSERVATION What do Hannah’s discipleship journey (vv.3-20) and her song (1 Sam 2:1-10) tell us about her experience and knowledge of God?

Deeper Reflection

HANNAH’S SONG reveals what she knew of God through her journey of progressing from pains (vv.3-18) to praise (1 Sam 2:1-10). “Even the barren gives birth to seven, but she who has many children languishes” (1 Sam 2:5b) are not words that Hannah could utter when she was provoked bitterly by her rival year after year (vv.6-7). These words reveal something about God that Hannah came to know: the God who brings about reversals for the weak who cry to Him. And this knowledge of God came out of a hard discipleship journey. Hannah “lived in a world in which a woman’s worth was seen in terms of motherhood. Without children…she was on the margins of society and powerless to change the situation herself”8. In her powerlessness, she had only her God to turn to and she could only pray, while feeling “greatly distressed” as she “wept bitterly” (v.10). Her prayer was highly theocentric: she will give her son to God fully when God answers her petition. It was “the offer of a woman with nothing to give who can only offer in return what she has not yet received it”9. Hannah grew deeper in her devotion to God in this asking from God and giving to God before God gives. This itself is experiencing God. Hannah’s deeper devotion to God out of her pains led her to a deeper knowledge and experience of God when God revealed Himself to her in answering her God-centred prayer.

APPLICATION

What part can I play in growing in deeper knowledge and experience of God? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for SGI leaders: To have deeper experience of the reality of God Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

8 9

David G. Firth, 62 David G. Firth, 62

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 2:1-10; Luke 1:26-35, 46-55

SATURDAY

6 March

Seeing Christ Through Hannah’s Song OBSERVATION What are the similarities that the song of Hannah (vv.1-10) shares with the song of Mary, The Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55)?

Deeper Reflection

THE SONG OF HANNAH concludes with an expression of hope in a king: “His king” and “His anointed” (v.10). This reflects the concern expressed in Judges: “In those days, there was no king in Israel” (Judg 21:25). It anticipates a time when God will raise up a king for Israel (Deut 17:14-20). It is clear in the Book of Samuel that “His king” and “His anointed” would be David. But we cannot leave the story with David.10 A millennium later, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced to her that she would conceive and bear Jesus, “the Son of the Most High” (Lk 1:26-32). Mary responded to this divine favour with a song, The Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55), which bears some similar themes with Hannah’s song. The king and anointed of God in Hannah’s song is David. But the Son whom Mary would bear – the context of her song – God “will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Lk 1:32-33). Both songs bring to our attention the weak and powerless who are dominated by the arrogant rich and powerful (vv.3-5, 7-8; Lk 1:51-53). The Son of David belonged to the weak and powerless, as His humble life on earth climaxed with His death on the cross. But both songs express hope in the divine reversal of fortunes. For Jesus, it was His resurrection and exaltation. As we follow Jesus, we walk the same path.

APPLICATION

What does it mean for me to follow Jesus in His death on the cross, His resurrection 2020 and His exaltation?

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for church board: To follow Jesus in His suffering, death, resurrection and exaltation Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

David G. Firth, 63

SUNDAY 7 March

Sunday Journal SCRIPTURE OBSERVATION

APPLICATION

PRAYER

The Past Week REVIEW What was my high point and my low point for the week?

What gave me life and what drained me?

How was the Spirit of God at work?

The Past Week REFLECT What is one key thing that God said to me this week in light of what has happened?

RESPOND What is one thing I need to do in light of what God is saying? Commit in prayer.

WEEK ONE / FAMILY DEVOTIONAL / MARCH 2021

WAIT FOR IT

Scripture: Luke 2:25-35

When you have to wait, remember God is with you.

* ACTIVITY BITE

Get your family members to pair up. Then ask everyone to look at his or her partner without showing any emotion for as long as possible. Those who can outlast their opponents win a prize (to be decided by the family). Discuss as a family how this activity teaches us about waiting.

* CHAT TIME

Q1: What have you asked from God but have yet to receive from Him? Q2: Why does God want us to wait? Q3: What do we get by waiting?

* LEARNING POINT

Simeon was a righteous man. He was a faithful servant of God. Simeon knew Jesus was the only one who could restore peace in Israel. For many years, Simeon waited patiently to meet Jesus. God had revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he met Jesus. One day, led by the Holy Spirit, Simeon went to the temple. He met baby Jesus! Simeon thanked and praised God for His promise. Sometimes, God takes a while to answer our prayers. That does not mean He has forgotten about us. While we are waiting, God is working to give us the perfect present in His time and way.

* ACTION POINT

Get each family member to identify a verse in the Bible that talks about being patient. Invite everyone to memorise the verses and say them out loud.

* FAMILY PRAYER POINTS

Thank God for being faithful. Pray that He will teach us to wait upon His perfect plan and purpose.

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 2:12-17

MONDAY 8 March

“Me First, God Second” Attitude OBSERVATION What significant observations can you make about the conduct of the two sons of Eli?

Deeper Reflection

THE TWO SONS OF ELI were “priests to the LORD” (1 Sam 1:3). But they were “worthless” men (v.12a) whose sin was “very great before the LORD” (v. 17). Hannah felt judged as “worthless” (1 Sam 1:16 – same Hebrew word as in v.12a) when she was mistaken by Eli for drunkenness while praying silently. The contrast depicts a godly woman who others think is worthless, but is not, and priests who think they are righteous, but are not.11 The “very great” sin of Eli’s sons started with “they did not know the LORD” (v.12b). As priests with the God-given privilege to serve God in His presence in the temple, surely they knew God, as they should. No, they did not. We can be serving in ministry and even as spiritual leaders, but do we know God? We dare not assume. Growing in knowing God as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures must be foundational and fundamental in our lives. Our knowing of God shapes our lifestyle and service to God. According to the Law, the priest should first “offer the fat” of an animal sacrifice “in smoke on the altar” before he takes the portion given to him (Lev 7:29-34). But Eli’s sons took the meat of their portion “raw”, even “by force”, before the fat was burned (vv.15-16). They took their portion of the animal sacrifice before God receives His portion on the altar. It is a “Me first, God second”12 attitude, at the heart of which is despising God (v.17).

APPLICATION

How can I guard against having a “Me first, God second” attitude? 2020

PRAYER Lord Jesus, help me to follow You and walk in the path that You have walked. You existed in the form of God, but did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. You emptied Yourself by taking the form of a bondservant and died on the cross, doing the will of Your Father. Even in Your exaltedness as Lord of all, it is to the glory of God the Father!13

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for leaders

Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Victor P. Hamilton, 220 Victor P. Hamilton, 220 13 Philippians 2:5-11 11

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 2:18-21

TUESDAY 9 March

A Family Marked by God-Centredness OBSERVATION What significant observations can you make about the family of Elkanah and Hannah?

Deeper Reflection

HERE IS A PORTRAIT of a God-centred family in which God was working according to His purpose. In this family’s story, God’s purpose began with a painful “the LORD had closed her womb” (1 Sam 1:5, 6) that led to Hannah asking God for a son to be fully dedicated to God – Samuel. And now, Samuel “was ministering before the LORD, as a boy” (v.18a). He was wearing “a linen ephod” (v.18b), a garment that only priests wore. It was “unusual for a boy so young to be an apprentice priest like this”14. God’s purpose and God’s way in Samuel’s life was unusual. In response to Eli’s annual blessing of Elkanah and Hannah for compensation for relinquishing Samuel, “the LORD visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters” (vv.20-21). God is generous in the riches of His grace and glory. He gives back to us more than we give to Him (cf. Mal 3:10). What God withheld from the faithful Hannah, the denial of offspring, was only temporary and it had the effect of multiplying blessings in her life.15 The five children of Elkanah and Hannah are unnamed in the story. But they were no less each a gift and blessing from God than Samuel. They were gifts of divine visitation (v.21). We may hold Samuel as an ideal for our children. But God’s purpose and God’s way in our children’s life do not necessarily have to be “unusual” like Samuel, and they are no less God’s purpose and God’s way.

APPLICATION

What changes do I need to make my family a God-centred family? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for pastors and staff: To discern God’s distinct purpose and way in their lives Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

14 15

Paul S. Evans, 1-2 Samuel, The Story of God Bible Commentary (Zondervan, 2018), 51 Robert D. Bergen, 80

SCRIPTURE

WEDNESDAY

1 Samuel 2:22-26

10 March

If One Sins Against God … OBSERVATION What significant observations can you make about sin?

Deeper Reflection

INSIDE THE TEMPLE, the sons of Eli committed abominable sacrileges (1 Sam 2:12-17). And outside the temple, they took advantage – “by rape, most likely”16 – of the women who served as attendants at the temple’s doorway (v.22b; Exo 38:8). Their crime of abuse of power as priests and sexual abuse offended “all Israel” (v.22a) – not just individuals, “scarring the nation as a whole”17. In confronting his sons, Eli said, “If one person sins against another, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the LORD, who will intercede for them?” (v.25a, NIV). Is there no hope for one who sins against God? Jesus is “the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 Jn 2:1-2, NIV) for “the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph 1:7). And He is the merciful and faithful High Priest interceding for us before God (Heb 7:25). However, what Eli’s sons had done was “the gravest kind of offense”18. When Eli confronted them, “they did not listen to the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to put them to death” (v.25b). Their resistance was not the reason for God’s judgment, but the result of His judgment. For their blatant defiance and persistent rebellion, God decided to put them to death and that, therefore, they did not listen to their father’s plea. The resistance itself is divine judgment. Let us keep short accounts of our sins before God (1 Jn 1:9), that our hearts may not be hardened (Heb 3:7-8).

APPLICATION

How should I take sin seriously? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for The Next Generation: To take holy and godly living seriously Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

David H. Jensen, 34 David H. Jensen, 34 18 David H. Jensen, 35 16 17

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 2:27-29

THURSDAY 11 March

Divine Privilege of Grace Abused OBSERVATION What can you learn about the grace of God in the prophetic word to Eli?

Deeper Reflection

ELI APPEARED TO HAVE REBUKED his sons for their moral offences (1 Sam 2:23-25a), and probably also their liturgical offences (1 Sam 2:12-17).19 But his view of the report of his sons’ misconduct circulated by God’s people as “not good” (1 Sam 2:24) reveals a personal disappointment.20 In any case, Eli had taken no action to expel his sons from the priestly service. He might have protested, but his sons suffered no unemployment. “There was no church discipline.”21 Then God sent a prophet to speak to Eli. He first recounted for Eli the grace of God in having granted to “the house of your father [probably, Aaron]” the privilege of the priesthood (v.27), of serving at the altar, burning incense, wearing the ephod and enjoying the food offerings (v.28). And God charged Eli and his sons of abusing His grace. God’s description of His charge is very weighty: “you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering” and “you honour your sons above Me” (v.29). The three divine “Did I not” questions in God’s word to Eli underscore the great worth of the threefold divine grace: “Did I not reveal Myself to you?” (v.27), “Did I not choose you?” (v.28a)? “Did I not give to you?” (v.28b). These three questions of God are relevant to us as well. How do we respond to God revealing Himself to us, choosing us and giving to us? We can belittle God’s grace by not responding to God’s grace in a manner worthy of that grace.

APPLICATION

In2020 what ways have I belittled or abused God’s grace and what will I do about that?

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for Outreach/Missions/ New Life leaders: To live life worthy of God’s grace Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

19 20 21

Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel, Focus on the Bible (Christian Focus, 2000), 35 David G. Firth, 69 Dale Ralph Davis, 35

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 2:27-34

FRIDAY

12 March

God’s Promises and God’s Judgment OBSERVATION What significant observations can you make about the promises of God and the judgment of God?

Deeper Reflection

GOD’S JUDGMENT fell on Eli and his sons for scorning the offerings of God, and Eli for honouring his sons above God by fattening themselves with the best parts of every offering of God’s people (v.29). Although Eli had confronted his sons of their sin, rather belatedly, he still benefitted from his sons’ actions and enjoyed the food they took from the people, and thus was implicated in their sin.22 Honouring anything above God is equivalent to despising God (vv.29-30). To honour God is essentially to walk in God’s ways, doing all things to God’s glory (1 Cor 10:31). These two contrasting divine statements, “I did indeed say…but now the LORD declares” (v.30a), show the nature of God’s promises. God “did indeed” promise Eli and his descendants that they will serve God as priests “forever” – for “an indefinite period of time, with no immediate end in view”, but not eternally23 (v.30a). “But now” God would stop fulfilling His promise and pronounced His judgment instead, because of the gravity of the sin of Eli and his sons. Eli would continue to have a priestly succession for a time, but each successor will suffer premature death (vv.31-32).24 God’s promises are conditional. For instance, God’s promise to meet all our needs is contingent on “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matt 6:33). And persistent disobedience “can result in forfeiture of divine promise”25.

APPLICATION

How can I keep myself from honouring other things or people above God? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for SGI leaders: To honour God above all things and people Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 16 Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 16 Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 16 25 Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 14 22 23

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 2:27-36

SATURDAY

13 March

What Faithfulness to God Means OBSERVATION What do you learn about God in verse 35?

Deeper Reflection

“LIGHT SHALL SHINE out of darkness” is what God said (2 Cor 4:6). Indeed, out of the darkness of the corruption and elimination of the priesthood of Eli and his descendants, God said, “I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest” (v.35a). It is God Himself who does the act of raising up and He will do so “for Myself”. It is so utterly God! Nothing can thwart the purpose of God who is in total sovereign control over everything. In the context, this particular priest refers to Samuel. But God promised to build this priest “an enduring house” (v.35b), which is not true for Samuel. Samuel was only the initial fulfilment of the divine word, but its greater fulfilment was in the line of Zadok, who replaced Abiathar, Eli’s descendent, as priest (1 Kin 2:26-27, 35).26 What characterised this particular priest is faithfulness. This “faithful priest” is a foreshadow of Jesus, the “merciful and faithful high priest…to make atonement for the sins of the people” (Heb 2:17). In presenting Jesus as the ultimate high priest, the writer of Hebrews emphasises the faithfulness of Jesus (Heb 3:1-2, 5-6). “Faithful” is defined as “do according to what is in My heart and in My soul” (v.35a). How do we know what is in God’s heart and soul? God has revealed that in the Scriptures. So then, reading the Scriptures must be seeking to know who God is and His heart and soul, and to live by that knowledge.

APPLICATION

What changes do I need to make in being faithful to God? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for church board: To be strengthened to walk with God faithfully Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Ronald F. Youngblood, 1, 2 Samuel, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 3 (Zondervan, 1992), 588

SUNDAY

14 March

Sunday Journal SCRIPTURE OBSERVATION

APPLICATION

PRAYER

The Past Week REVIEW What was my high point and my low point for the week?

What gave me life and what drained me?

How was the Spirit of God at work?

The Past Week REFLECT What is one key thing that God said to me this week in light of what has happened?

RESPOND What is one thing I need to do in light of what God is saying? Commit in prayer.

WEEK TWO / FAMILY DEVOTIONAL / MARCH 2021

SITTING. WAITING. WISHING. Scripture: Exodus 32:1-35

When you have to wait, remember what is true.

* ACTIVITY BITE

Get your family to play a game of charades. Ask everyone to take turns acting out a true statement about God, for example, “God is all knowing”, while the rest of the family take turns to guess.

* CHAT TIME

Q1: What made the Israelites forego God’s promises and seek an empty golden calf for comfort? Q2: What truth does God want us to know about Him? Q3: How does knowing the truth help us wait for God’s answers?

* LEARNING POINT

Moses was meeting God at the mountain. The Israelites grew impatient when Moses didn’t appear for a long time. They built themselves a golden calf and worshipped it. They hoped that the golden calf would give them what they wanted. God was furious and He punished them for their sins. The Israelites had doubts about the truth that God was still with them. So they chose to believe what they felt was true. When we remember what is true about God, we will stay firm in the truth. This will prevent us from succumbing to lies and doing wrong things.

* ACTION POINT

Ask your family members to list down the promises that God has fulfilled for your family. Get everyone to proclaim one truth about God. Share how this truth will guide you in trusting God for His promises.

* FAMILY PRAYER POINTS

Thank God for the promises that He has fulfilled for your family. Pray for a patient and willing heart that waits upon God’s answers without complaint.

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 3:1; Amos 8:11-12

MONDAY

15 March

The Famine of God’s Word OBSERVATION What do you learn about the Word of God from these passages?

Deeper Reflection

FAMINE DESTROYS livelihood and lives. But the worst kind of famine is the famine of the Word of God. Famine of God’s Word comes from God Himself as judgment, as God spoke to Israel through Amos: “I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the LORD. People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they will roam about to seek the word of the LORD, but they will not find it” (Am 8:11-12). How worse can life be than when we “seek” God’s Word, but “will not find it”! Do we seriously seek God’s Word? “Word from the LORD was rare…visions were infrequent” in Israel under a corrupt priestly leadership (v.1). God had been speaking to Israel in the days of Judges, but they paid no attention to His Word. So now, God held back His Word from His people. God’s Word is God’s light (Psa 119:105). Without the light of God’s Word we will wander in the wilderness of darkness. We are already living in a world of darkness and we cannot afford to have an additional darkness. We neglect God’s Word to our peril. We need to read, hear and keep God’s Word: “Blessed is he who reads… hear…and keep what is written” (Rev 1:3). We ought to “pay close attention” to Scripture “as to a lamp shinning in a dark place – until the Day dawns and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts” (2 Pet 1:19, NLT).

APPLICATION

What does it mean for me to seriously seek the Word of God? 2020

PRAYER Help me, O God, to see and grasp the glorious worth of Your eternal Word as more desirable than the finest gold. Your Word is perfect to revive my soul, trustworthy to make wise the simple, right to rejoice my heart and clear to give me insight for living.27 I seek You by seeking Your Word where You have revealed Yourself and Your mind and Your heart.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for leaders

Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Psalm 19:7-8

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 3:1-5

TUESDAY

16 March

Same Place, Yet Different Place OBSERVATION What is the significance of the narrator’s description of Eli and Samuel in verses 2 to 3?

Deeper Reflection

ELI AND SAMUEL WERE SLEEPING in the same place: the temple. But note how the narrator describes where Eli and where Samuel were sleeping, which is not without significance: “Eli was lying down in his place” (v.2) and “Samuel was lying down in the temple where the ark of God was” (v.3). Important details are given in the description of where Samuel was sleeping. For Eli it is just “in his place”, whereas for Samuel, it is “in the temple” – and much more, “where the ark of God was”. The ark was the earthly symbol of God’s presence. The point is: physically, both were in the same place, but not so spiritually. Samuel was close to God – “where the ark of God was”, while Eli was just “in his place”. Eli, who honoured his sons above God (1 Sam 2:29), was in the temple, but in reality, not near God’s presence. Eli’s “eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see” (v.2). Eli’s blindness mirrors Israel’s spiritual condition under his and his sons’ leadership.28 But “the lamp of God” near where Samuel was sleeping “had not yet gone out” (v.3), which has “a symbolic and foreshadowing function”29. Israel was in a spiritually dark period when divine revelation was rare (v.1). But the shining lamp “points to the dawning of a new day, when darkness will be dispelled through the one sleeping nearby”30. The God of shinning redemptive hope is present even in the darkest time.

APPLICATION

How can I avoid falling into the spiritual tragedy of being “in the temple” but not near 2020 the presence of God?

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for pastors and staff: To walk and serve in God’s enlightening and empowering presence Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 21 Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 21 30 Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 21 28

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 3:1-10

WEDNESDAY 17 March

What Encounter with God Means OBSERVATION What significant observations can you make about Samuel’s personal encounter with God?

Deeper Reflection

SAMUEL HAD BEEN “growing…in favour with the LORD” (1 Sam 2:26) and was now “ministering to the LORD” (v.1). However, one critical element was missing: he “did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him” (v.7). Note that it is “not yet”. Samuel was still on a journey. Mark the inseparable relation between “know the LORD” and “the word of the LORD revealed”. God has revealed Himself in His Word that we may know Him. But we cannot know God unless and until God makes Himself known to us. Knowing God is having a personal experience with God, which begins with a personal encounter with God. A true encounter with God results in God-centredness, with God as the reference point for everything. “The LORD called Samuel” (vv.4, 6, 8) was Samuel’s first personal encounter with God. But encounter with God can only come from God and be initiated by God Himself. We cannot make it happen. It a gift of God’s grace bestowed in His way and at His time. But our hearts must be ready for this grace of God. Samuel’s heart was ready: “Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening” (vv.9-10). Our relationship with God and posture before Him must be “Your servant”. Being God’s servant is not just serving in ministry. We can be serving, but not “Your servant”. “Your servant” fundamentally means that God is the Master of our lives, and that we live to do His will.

APPLICATION

How do I evaluate myself with regards to the posture “Speak, LORD, Your servant is 2020 listening”?

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for married couples: To seek to hear and heed the Word of God Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

SCRIPTURE

THURSDAY

1 Samuel 3:10-14

18 March

God’s Word and God’s Way OBSERVATION What can you learn about God in what He spoke to Samuel?

Deeper Reflection

THE THEME of the Word of God permeates 1 Samuel chapter 3. In the context of “word from the LORD was rare” and “visions were infrequent” (1 Sam 3:1), God called Samuel, whose response was, “Speak, LORD, Your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:9-10). In Samuel’s encounter with God, God spoke to him about His judgment on Eli and his household (vv.11-14). Even in this divine speech the Word of God is prominent: “all that I have spoken” (v.12), “I have told him” (v.13) and “I have sworn” (v.14). We cannot miss the emphasis on the dominance of the Word of God in life here. Is your life dominated by God’s Word? And what God has spoken He “will carry out” (v.12). We trust in God by trusting in His Word. God’s judgment on Eli and his household was very harsh and severe. His judgment on them was “forever” (v.13), with no possibility of God relenting from it. God had “sworn” that the sin of Eli’s house “shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever” (v.14). No room for forgiveness. Those who scorned God’s “sacrifice and offering” (1 Sam 2:29) cannot make atonement for their sins by sacrifices and offering. 31 This may seem shocking, but “the Lord does formally and unconditionally decree judgment, precluding restoration”32. It is just the way of God, and God is God and He is sovereign, and no one can question Him, dispute with Him or object to Him.

APPLICATION

How do I make the Word of God dominant in my life? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for Outreach/Missions/ New Life leaders: To make the Word of God dominant in their lives Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

31 32

Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., 22 Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., 22

SCRIPTURE

FRIDAY

1 Samuel 3:15-18

19 March

God is God and Lord OBSERVATION What can you learn about Eli and God in verse 18?

Deeper Reflection

GOD’S WORD OF JUDGMENT on Eli and his household that God communicated to Samuel was so weighty (1 Sam 3:9-14), such that Samuel was “afraid to tell” Eli about it (v.15). God virtually repeated to Samuel what He had said through the prophet earlier (1 Sam 2:27-36). In doing so, God placed Samuel on par with this prophet,33 and began to establish Samuel as a prophet. Eli’s response to what Samuel reported to him was: “He is the LORD; let Him do what is good in His eyes” (v.18, NIV). While the content of Eli’s statement refers to God’s judgment on him and his household, the theological perspectives and posture reflected in it can be applied to other kinds of negative situations, like suffering. Two perspectives and a posture. Whatever that happens to us, we are to recognise the sovereign right of God: “He is the LORD.” God is “in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Psa 115:3). God is the potter and we are the clay; and He moulds us as He wills (Rom 9:20-21). There is the divine good in whatever that happens to us: God does “what is good in His eyes”. What is good before God does not necessarily accord with what we think is good or should be good. And our posture before God must be humble acceptance: “let Him do….” Despite his gross failures and God’s irrevocable judgment on him (1 Sam 3:14), Eli’s response was, nonetheless, “both devout and submissive”34.

APPLICATION

What are the areas or situations in my life that I need to recognise God’s sovereign 2020 right and that it is good in His eyes?

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for SGI leaders: To acknowledge God’s sovereign right and trust in the divine good Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

33 34

Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 21 Ronald F. Youngblood, 592

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 2:11, 18-21, 26; 3:1, 19-21

SATURDAY 20 March

God at Work Amidst Evil OBSERVATION What is the significance of the narrator alternating the negative accounts of Eli’s house (1 Sam 2:12-17, 22-25, 27-36; 3:1-18) and brief positive comments on Samuel (vv.18-21, 26; 3:1, 19-21) in 1 Samuel 2:11-3:21?

Deeper Reflection

1 SAMUEL 2:11-3:21 is a narrative dominated by the great sin of Eli’s sons and God’s coming judgment on Eli and his household. But the narrator alternates between the negative accounts of Eli’s house (1 Sam 2:12-17, 22-25, 27-36; 3:1-18) and brief positive comments on Samuel and his growing relationship with God (vv.18-21, 26; 1 Sam 3:1, 19-21). In fact, this narrative begins with “the boy ministered to the LORD” (v.11) and ends with Samuel “confirmed as a prophet of the LORD” (1 Sam 3:19-21). The point is: God was in the process of raising up “a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul” (1 Sam 2:35) right in the midst of a spiritual darkness and toward the disappearing of this darkness. Observe how God worked: “There are no slogans, no campaigns and no speeches. It is all very quiet. Growth seldom makes noise, and Yahweh is growing His new leader.”35 When corruption is within a church or denomination, it can be easily assumed that the whole system is corrupt and God is absent.36 But the quiet and gradual rise of Samuel in God’s presence and under the shadow of great spiritual decline shows that “goodness can survive in the presence of evil”37. God is always in the process of raising up the faithful next generation. What begins as “word from the LORD was rare” and “visions were infrequent” (1 Sam 3:1) ends with “the LORD revealed Himself…by the word of the LORD” (v.21).

APPLICATION

What does it mean for me to know that God is still at work in the midst of evil? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for church board: To be able to see God at work amidst evil Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

35 36 37

Dale Ralph Davis, 31 Mary J. Evans, The Message of Samuel, The Bible Speaks Today (IVP, 2004), 35 Mary J. Evans, 35

SUNDAY

21 March

Sunday Journal SCRIPTURE OBSERVATION

APPLICATION

PRAYER

The Past Week REVIEW What was my high point and my low point for the week?

What gave me life and what drained me?

How was the Spirit of God at work?

The Past Week REFLECT What is one key thing that God said to me this week in light of what has happened?

RESPOND What is one thing I need to do in light of what God is saying? Commit in prayer.

WEEK THREE / FAMILY DEVOTIONAL / MARCH 2021

CAN’T HARDLY WAIT Scripture: Genesis 25:24-34

If you don’t wait, it could cost you.

* ACTIVITY BITE

Get your family members to play a game where contestants have to use chopsticks to transport jellybeans from point A to point B in the shortest time possible. Should anyone drop any jellybeans from their chopsticks along the way, a 30-second penalty will be imposed before he or she can resume the race. Discuss as a family how this game teaches us about being patient.

* CHAT TIME

Q1: How did you feel when you couldn’t do anything during the 30-second penalty period? Q2: What do you think God is trying to teach us about patience from the story of Jacob and Esau? Q3: What do we gain by being patient?

* LEARNING POINT

Esau came back from hunting one day, feeling extremely hungry. Esau asked Jacob, his younger brother, for a bowl of stew. Jacob offered to give Esau a bowl in exchange for his birthright. Esau agreed. The birthright was extremely prestigious in the old days. The firstborn would receive a double portion of the inheritance when the father died. Esau’s impatience and bad decision cost him the firstborn inheritance and created many problems for the family later on. Sometimes, God wants us to wait so that we do not sin and cause pain to ourselves and others.

* ACTION POINT

Ask your family members to write down one thing that he or she desires. Then get everyone to share what they should do if getting what they want involves a long wait.

* FAMILY PRAYER POINTS

Thank God for His love for us even though we don’t deserve it. Pray for forgiveness for the rash decisions that we make at times. Pray for God’s guidance to lead us in the way that He wants.

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 3:19-4:1a; 7:1-3

MONDAY

22 March

God’s Word and God’s Presence OBSERVATION What is the significance of Samuel’s prophetic word to all Israel (1 Sam 4:1a; 7:3) sandwiching the narrative of the Ark of the Covenant and Israel (1 Sam 4:1b-7:2)?

Deeper Reflection

1 SAMUEL 4:1B-7:2 is called the “Ark Narrative”, with the Ark of the Covenant as the central focus – with 37 references to it in the narrative. The narrative tells of how the Philistines defeated Israel in battle and captured the ark of God (1 Sam 4-5), and how the ark of God returned back to Israel (1 Sam 6) and remained in Kiriath-jearim for some 20 years (1 Sam 7:1-2). The ark of God left Shiloh and stayed in the land of the Philistines, and then returned to Israel, but stayed in Kiriath-jearim, not the temple in Shiloh. These geographical movements of the ark of God indicate the detachment of God’s presence from His people. The ark of God was the earthly symbol of God’s presence. Samuel is totally absent in the “Ark Narrative” and this is not without theological significance. And the “Ark Narrative” is sandwiched by “Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel” (1 Sam 4:1a) and “Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel” (1 Sam 7:3). The “absence and silence of Samuel point to Israel’s neglect of prophetic ministry at this critical time in their history”38. The absence of Samuel is the absence of the Word of God. God’s presence detached from Israel in the “Ark Narrative”, sandwiched by the prophetic word of Samuel who is absent in the narrative shows the theological relation between God’s Word and God’s presence. We commune with God in His presence through His Word where He has revealed Himself.

APPLICATION

How do I see the relation between the Word of God and the presence of God in my 2020 discipleship journey?

PRAYER God, the Word of God is the revelation of God. And where You have revealed and reveal Yourself is where Your presence is, for Your presence is a revelatory presence — just like The Eternal Word, who became flesh as Immanuel — “God with us” and dwelt among His people to reveal God. Even when You hide Yourself,39 You are present with me in Your Living Word.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for leaders

Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

38 39

Victor P. Hamilton, 224 Isaiah 45:15

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 4:1-3

TUESDAY

23 March

God’s Sovereign Subversiveness: A Presumptuous Assumption OBSERVATION What is the significance of Israel’s “Why?” question as their response to their defeat to the Philistines (v.3)?

Deeper Reflection

THERE IS MUCH TO LEARN about God in the “Ark Narrative” by observing the divine movements in the narrative. One significant theological feature in the “Ark Narrative” is the sovereign subversiveness of God. Humans like a God who is predictable, who can be moved predictably by certain “effective spiritual formulas”. Behind this desire is wanting to control. But God in His sovereign subversiveness often acts in unpredictable, surprising and mysterious ways. Israel went into battle with the Philistines and suffered defeat with the loss of 4,000 men (vv.1-2). And Israel’s response was: “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines?” (v.3a). “Why?” Israel was surprised and shocked by the defeat. They expected victory. Why would Israel expect victory over the Philistines? In those days, warfare was theological in nature. Israel had a presumptuous assumption. They were the people of the one true God who was with them and for them. Like Israel, we, too, assumed that because we are God’s children, nothing bad, but only good things, should happen to us. Israel was right that God was behind their defeat. But it was written in Israel’s Scriptures that Israel’s defeats in battles were due to their unfaithfulness to God (Josh 7:1-5 with Josh 1:8). Israel should have done self-examination in light of the Scriptures if they had been unfaithful to God. They did not. They forgot or ignored what was written in the Scriptures.

APPLICATION

How can I guard against having wrong or false assumptions about God in my life? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for pastors and staff: To discern wrong or false assumptions about God Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 4:1-9

WEDNESDAY 24 March

God’s Sovereign Subversiveness: Interpreting God Wrongly OBSERVATION What is the significance of the reactions of Israel and the Philistines to the coming of the ark of God to Israel’s camp (vv.3-9)?

Deeper Reflection

WITHOUT EXAMINING themselves as to why God defeated them before the Philistines, Israel immediately moved to take the Ark of the Covenant with them to the battlefield (vv.3-4). They recalled their past history of how Israel triumphed over their enemies when the ark of God led them in battle (Num 10:35; Josh 6:1-6). There was great exhilaration at the sight of the ark of God (v.5). But what was Israel’s view of God? What was Israel’s attitude? How we look at God shapes how we live our lives. Israel was only interested in victory and success. What matters to Israel is what works and the solution to their problem. In their theology, the ark of God is the answer. Israel approached this God-thing — the ark of God — not with a God-centred posture. It was purely self-centred and self-serving. It could be that to Israel, God will not allow Himself to be the loser and He will be forced to deliver them to protect His honour.40 There was no concern for seeking God. It was just attempting to use God, to manipulate God. Israel was confident that God will “deliver us from the power of our enemies” (v.3), while the Philistines were “afraid” — “Who shall deliver us from the hands of these mighty gods?” (vv.7-8). But it turned out that, ironically, God did not deliver Israel from the Philistines; instead, He “delivered” Israel’s enemies from Himself. Both sides interpreted God wrongly.

APPLICATION

How do I go about interpreting God rightly in life and in my life? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for The Next Generation: To truly know God and relate with Him rightly Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Dale Ralph Davis, 54

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 4:1-11

THURSDAY 25 March

God’s Sovereign Subversiveness: God Was Captured! OBSERVATION What do you learn about God in Israel’s second battle with the Philistines (vv.4-11)?

Deeper Reflection

ISRAEL BROUGHT with them the ark of God into their second battle with the Philistines. The narrator gives a detailed description of the ark of God: “the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who sits enthroned on the cherubim” (v.4). God “sitting enthroned on the cherubim” indicates God’s rulership. The ark contained the Ten Commandments (Exo 40:20; Deut 10:2), pointing to God’s revelation, and the mercy seat on the ark points to God’s redemption (Lev 16:14-16). So, the ark of God points to God as the ruling, speaking and forgiving God. In the second battle, Israel was “defeated” again, and “the slaughter was very great”, with Israel losing “thirty thousand foot soldiers” (v.10). Without the ark of God, Israel lost “four thousand men” (v.2), but now, with the ark of God, they lost “thirty thousand foot soldiers”. What an irony! But God was behind these results. The sovereign subversiveness of God was at work. And furthermore, “the ark of God was taken” by the Philistines (v.11). Warfare in those days was theological in nature. The God of Israel lost in battle and He was captured! “The LORD of hosts” (v.4) — the cosmic ruler with universal rule, sovereign of every power, with the total resources of the universe at His command41 — allowed His enemies to “triumph” over Him. This theological irony underlines the sovereign subversiveness of God.

APPLICATION

How do I respond to situations where what appears in reality seems to say that God is 2020 not in control?

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for Outreach/Missions/ New Life leaders: To see and know the supreme greatness of God Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Dale Ralph Davis, 18

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 4:12-18; 2:31-34

FRIDAY

26 March

Having Eyes That Can See OBSERVATION What was really happening in verses 12 to 18 in light of 1 Samuel 2:31-34?

Deeper Reflection

THINGS THAT HAPPEN in life and in our lives can be more than meets the eye. Based on what is narrated in verses 12 to 18 — the defeat and “great slaughter” of Israel by the Philistines, the death of Eli’s two sons and the ark of God being taken (v.17) — on the surface it is just a tragic event. But when we look for the theological significance and reality in the tragic event, we see God at work – keeping and fulfilling His Word of judgment on Eli and his household (1 Sam 2:31-34). The principle here is: Look at things through the Word of God, so as to see as God sees. Twice mentioned in 1 Samuel is Eli’s eyes “could not see” (1 Sam 3:2 and v.15), which epitomises Eli being continually “in the dark” about people and events, who only belatedly understood what was happening around him.42 He initially misjudged Hannah’s character (1 Sam 1:14). He did not see for himself his sons’ evil deeds; he only “heard” about them (1 Sam 2:22-23). When God was calling Samuel, Eli did not immediately recognise that it was God (1 Sam 3:2-8). When “all the city cried out” at the news of Israel’s defeat, Eli asked, “What is happening?” (vv.13-14, 16-17 – interrupted by v.15!). Eli was one of the last people in the city to get the news. The first mention of Eli’s eyes “could not see” follows immediately after “word from the LORD was rare…visions were infrequent” (1 Sam 3:1-2). The correlation between the Word of God and seeing is clear.

APPLICATION

How does the Word of God cultivate in me the ability to see as God sees? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for SGI leaders: To see things as God sees them Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 28

SCRIPTURE

1 Samuel 4:19-22; Ezekiel 10:3-4, 18-19

SATURDAY

27 March

The Departure of God’s Glory OBSERVATION What does “The glory of God has departed from Israel” (vv.21, 22) mean?

Deeper Reflection

“THE ARK OF GOD was taken” is repeated five times in the narrative of Israel’s defeat to the Philistines in 1 Samuel 4 (vv.11, 17, 19, 21, 22). It was more than just a physical sacred symbol being taken by Israel’s enemies. Its theological significance and reality is revealed when Eli’s daughter-in-law gave birth to a son upon learning that her husband and father-in-law had died, and the ark of God was taken (v.19). She named her son “Ichabod” (v.21a), which means “no glory” or “Where has the Glory gone?”43. She understood that “the ark of God was taken” was in reality “The glory of God has departed from Israel” (v.21). The glory of God is the presence of God (Exo 13:21-22 and 40:34-35). Five centuries later, “the glory of the LORD departed” from His temple when Israel went into exile to Babylon for their persistent unfaithfulness to God (Eze 10:3-4, 18-19). Israel took God’s presence in the temple for granted (Jer 7:1-4), thinking that God’s presence could be guaranteed by proper rituals apart from obedience (Isa 1:11-17). Now that in and through Christ we have access to God’s presence easily and freely, all the more we need to be careful not to take God’s presence for granted. God’s gracious redemptive presence is a holy presence. Take heed that we do not become like Samson: “he did not know that the LORD had departed from him” (Judg 16:19-20).

APPLICATION

How can I guard against taking the presence of God for granted? 2020

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for church board: To be careful not to take God’s presence for granted Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 29

SUNDAY

28 March

Sunday Journal SCRIPTURE OBSERVATION

APPLICATION

PRAYER

The Past Week REVIEW What was my high point and my low point for the week?

What gave me life and what drained me?

How was the Spirit of God at work?

The Past Week REFLECT What is one key thing that God said to me this week in light of what has happened?

RESPOND What is one thing I need to do in light of what God is saying? Commit in prayer.

WEEK FOUR / FAMILY DEVOTIONAL / MARCH 2021

I WILL WAIT

Scripture: Luke 19:28-44 You can celebrate even when you are waiting.

* ACTIVITY BITE

Get each family member to list down the things that they are grateful for. Then ask everyone to share about the things that they have prayed to God for, but have yet to receive from Him.

* CHAT TIME

Q1: What have you asked from God but are still waiting to receive from Him? Q2: What can you do while waiting for God’s answers? Q3: Why is God’s plan worth waiting for?

* LEARNING POINT

Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. The people rejoiced and cheered when Jesus arrived. He died on the cross, resurrected later that week and ascended to Heaven 40 days after resurrection. He promised that He will return to restore peace and joy on earth. As Jesus’ followers, we are to wait patiently for His return. While waiting, we can still celebrate and be thankful for the good things that He has given to us. We can talk to others about Jesus so that more will receive salvation!

* ACTION POINT

We may still be waiting for God’s answers, but that should not stop us from blessing others. Get your family members to think of one way that they can bless others this week.

* FAMILY PRAYER POINTS

Thank God for the good and the challenging experiences that He has given us. Pray for a willing heart that listens and obeys His commands.

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 21:1-22

MONDAY

29 March

The Lord Knows What He Is Doing OBSERVATION Why did Jesus curse the fig tree and cleanse the temple?

Deeper Reflection

YESTERDAY WAS PALM SUNDAY — the first day of the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry – when Jesus rode into Jerusalem symbolically as King (vv.1-11). Today, Jesus passed judgment on Israel — symbolically cursing a fig tree and cleansing the temple (vv.12-19).44 Why did Jesus see the need to judge Israel before He was lifted up on the cross? Why did Jesus make such a strong statement against the most sacred of Jewish institutions, the temple? Perhaps Jesus was underlining the truth that He was bringing an end to the old era: Jesus’ judgment upon Israel symbolised that the era of Israel and the Mosaic Covenant was over. A new era was dawning — the new Covenant of Grace — by which salvation was available to both Jews and Gentiles through faith in Christ. Therefore Jesus stated that the new temple (personified by Himself, see Jn 2:18-22) shall be called “a house of prayer for all the nations” (Mk 11:17). Oftentimes, we can identify with the disciples’ cluelessness about what the Lord was doing. We find it hard to understand why Jesus had to “curse the fig tree” since it was not the season of fruit-bearing. On this side of eternity, we often do not see the bigger picture of what God is doing in the world, for example, the COVID-19 global pandemic that has struck the world. But our lack of understanding should not stop us from trusting God and believing that He has a higher purpose. Even when we cannot see and do not understand, we need to trust God’s sovereignty and goodness, and rest in His grace.

APPLICATION

In2020 what area(s) of my life do I most need to trust in God’s sovereignty, goodness and grace?

PRAYER Dear loving Father, I do not always understand why You are doing what You are doing in my life. In times of darkness and uncertainty, please help me nevertheless to trust You, to rest in Your unchanging character and all-sufficient grace. Hold my hand and reassure me through the encouragement of Your Word, the community of Your people and the empowering presence of Your Spirit. In the name of Jesus my Lord, I pray. Amen.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for leaders

Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

This sequence of events in Jesus’ final week before His crucifixion and death on the cross follows the account in Mark’s Gospel (see Chapter 11), and is taken from Andreas J. Köstenberger and Justin Taylor, The Final Days of Jesus (Wheaton, ILL: Crossway, 2014), especially pages 23 to 26.

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 21:23-46

TUESDAY

30 March

Truth Must Be Taught and Lived Out OBSERVATION What strikes you about Jesus in what He continued to do on the third day of His final week before His trial and crucifixion?

Deeper Reflection

IT IS REMARKABLE that Jesus continued with His teaching ministry right to the end. He was clear about His mission on earth — to preach the Kingdom of God (Matt 4:17) and teach His disciples how they should live as people of God’s Kingdom (cf. Matt 5:1-7:28). Jesus also knew that, ultimately, His mission on earth was to “be delivered up to be crucified” (Matt 26:2). The cost to Himself was great, but Jesus nevertheless set His face resolutely towards Jerusalem (Lk 9:51). In today’s passage, Jesus was in the Jerusalem temple still teaching and engaging with the people a mere two days before his trial and crucifixion. When confronted by the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus initially spoke in parables (vv.28-41; Matt 22:1-14), but subsequently he did not mince His words (Matt 23:1-39). Jesus’ strong indictments of these leaders were a grave warning not to be like them. They “preach, but do not practice” (Matt 23:3); were “blind fools” (Matt 23:17); “have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matt 23:23); “clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matt 23:25). God is not at all impressed even if we can impress other people. He requires our authenticity and integrity. God sees within and is glorified when our outer behaviour is congruent with our inner self. If we are to grow in deeper discipleship, we must guard our inner life and avoid insincerity and outward superficiality. As the Psalmist aptly said in his prayer to God: “Behold, You delight in truth in the inward being” (Psa 51:6).

APPLICATION

Am I real and authentic before God and other people? What are the areas in my life 2020 where I am still trying to impress others instead of simply living to obey and please God?

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for pastors and staff: To walk closely with God, build trusted relationships with one another and work together as a team Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

SCRIPTURE

Luke 21:37-22:6; Matthew 26:3-5

WEDNESDAY 31 March

The Calm Before the Storm OBSERVATION What significant observations can you make about these passages regarding the religious leaders’ plot to kill Jesus?

Deeper Reflection

THE FOURTH DAY of Passion Week appeared quiet. After the past three tumultuous days, the activities surrounding Jesus appeared to simmer down. Jesus was doing what He was passionate about – teaching in the temple and proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom. There was no need for another grand entrance into Jerusalem with adoring crowds watching Jesus’ every move. No more ruckus with merchants and money changers in the courtyard of the temple. No more tense confrontations with the religious leaders trying to trap Jesus for legal grounds to charge Him. But the calm on the surface belied another reality. Something sinister was brewing. Jerusalem’s top religious leaders were plotting evil in the high priest’s home. Judas had agreed to sell out his Master. The stakes were high – it was all or nothing! Jesus’ enemies wanted to take His life. But they feared the crowds of pilgrims opposing them since Jesus was manifestly popular. They also feared the strong arm of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem clamping down hard should riots ensue. These religious leaders were supposed to represent God before the people. But they did not recognise the Messiah-King and colluded with the forces of darkness to destroy Jesus and His mission. The religious leaders resorted to stealth and the cover of darkness to apprehend Jesus and fabricated evidence to falsely accuse and charge Him with wrongdoing. They thought nothing of killing an innocent man. It was a travesty of justice of the most extreme kind. Ironically, these religious leaders showed that they feared the crowds and Romans much more than they feared God whom they claimed to serve.

APPLICATION

In2020 what ways do I fear people more than I fear God, such that I turn from obeying God?

PRAYER Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.

Prayer Pointers Give thanks and praise:

Pray for The Next Generation: To seek to love and obey God and know how to honour their parents Pray for significant people:

Pray for those in need:

Pray for self:

Notes

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